The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland has called out some fans who popularized a misconception surrounding the series’ Force Witches.
The Acolyte Episode 3 introduced viewers to a coven of Force wielding witches who raised Osha and Mae, the twist villain of the series.
While the coven as a collective helped out with the twins, Mother Koril and Mother Ansieya were their primary mothers, leading fans to believe the show was delivering an unexpected queer relationship during Pride Month.
However, Headland believes this interpretation of their relationship is a big misconception, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I would say it’s really reductive to call them lesbians. I think it means you’re not really paying attention to this story.”
She continued, “They’re in a matriarchal society. As a gay woman, I knew it would read that their sexuality is queer, but there also aren’t any men in their community. So a closeness between the two of them would be natural. It seemed plot-driven.”
The idea of The Acolyte being a more queer coded part of the Star Wars timeline came from an interview clip in which The Wrap called The Acolyte the “gayest entry in the Star Wars universe.”
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Headland and series star Amandla Stenberg went along with the statement by making jokes hyping up the queerness of both the show and the franchise at large.
These jokes were met by backlash by those who took those words out of context, which led to Headland clarifying her remarks to THR, “I don’t know what the term ‘gay’ means in that sense. I don’t believe that I’ve created queer, with a capital Q, content.”
Despite not intending to write The Acolyte to be overtly queer, Headland did stress that she did not want to alienate any queer Star Wars fans who saw themselves in any part of the show.
“I’m proud of being a gay woman who’s accomplished this feat, and certainly, if my content is called queer, I don’t want to disown whatever queerness is in the show,” Headland said. “I would be proud to create something that inspired queer people.”
New episodes of The Acolyte premiere on Disney+ on Tuesdays. If you’re looking for more Star Wars, you can read everything we know about Andor Season 2 release date and Tales of the Jedi Season 2. You can also check out new movies premiering in June and all the TV shows streaming this month.
